Bell
K-12 School in Chicago, IL · 3730 N Oakley Ave · 60618
At a glance
Bell is a 112,084-square-foot K-12 school at 3730 N Oakley Ave in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1916. In its 2023 Chicago benchmarking disclosure it reported an ENERGY STAR score of 25 out of 100 (grade D), a site energy-use intensity of 92.8 kBtu/ft² and 790 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions. That score is higher than 26% of the 365 scored K-12 school buildings in Chicago.
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance · reporting year 2023
Benchmarking record
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR score | 25 (band D) |
| Site EUI | 92.8 kBtu/ft² |
| Source EUI | 140.1 kBtu/ft² |
| GHG emissions | 790 tCO₂e |
| GHG intensity | 7.0 kgCO₂e/ft² |
| Electricity | 800,880 kWh |
| Natural gas | 76,729 therms |
| Gross floor area | 112,084 sq ft |
| Source record | chicago:251585:2023 |
The disclosure history
Year over year
| Year | Score | Δ | Site EUI | GHG emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023latest | 25 | -3 | 92.8 kBtu/ft² | 790 tCO₂e |
| 2022 | 28 | -8 | 100.9 kBtu/ft² | 829 tCO₂e |
| 2021 | 36 | -17 | 90.3 kBtu/ft² | 758 tCO₂e |
| 2020 | 53 | 76.0 kBtu/ft² | 662 tCO₂e | |
| 2019 | — | — | — | |
| 2018 | 47 | -22 | 90.4 kBtu/ft² | 854 tCO₂e |
| 2017 | 69 | +4 | 84.0 kBtu/ft² | 877 tCO₂e |
| 2016 | 65 | -10 | 90.5 kBtu/ft² | 914 tCO₂e |
| 2015 | 75 | 93.3 kBtu/ft² | 830 tCO₂e |
Compliance context
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
Ownership
No owning organisation shown. Names of private individuals in the disclosure are not published here.
Own or manage this building? Claim it to correct the record and get compliance alerts.
Location
- Address
- 3730 N Oakley Ave
- City
- Chicago
- State
- Illinois
- ZIP
- 60618
- Coordinates
- 41.90015, -87.62222
Within ~1 km
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See also: most efficient in Chicago · biggest emitters
How does Bell compare with other K-12 school buildings in Chicago?
The latest disclosures cover 543 K-12 school buildings in Chicago, out of 3,852 buildings citywide. Bell's ENERGY STAR score of 25 compares with an average of 45 across the 365 that report a score; it scores higher than 26% of them and lower than 72%. Its site EUI of 92.8 kBtu/ft² is about 28% above the average of 72.7 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 7.0 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 13% above the group average of 6.2 kgCO₂e/ft².
At 112,084 sq ft, it is roughly in line with the average floor area of 121,824 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1916, 27 years earlier than the group's average year built (1943). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 6,548 K-12 school buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 64 and a site EUI of 52.7 kBtu/ft².
How has Bell's energy performance changed over time?
BuildingCensus holds 9 Chicago disclosures for Bell, covering report years 2015–2023. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 75 in 2015 to 25 in 2023 (-50 points); its best year on file was 2015, at 75. Site EUI moved from 93.3 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 92.8 kBtu/ft² (2023), a 1% decrease. Reported emissions went from 830 tCO₂e to 790 tCO₂e over the same span (down 5%).
What does an ENERGY STAR score of 25 mean?
ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 25 means the building performs better than about 25% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 25 falls in band D — lowest band (1–54). It sits 50 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. In Chicago, 35% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.
Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Bell's 92.8 kBtu/ft² across 112,084 sq ft works out to about 10.4 billion Btu (3,048 MWh-equivalent) in 2023. Its source EUI of 140.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 800,880 kWh of electricity and 76,729 therms of natural gas for the year.
Which law requires Bell to report its energy use?
Bell reports under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance, the legal basis of the Chicago Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2023 disclosure (source record chicago:251585:2023). Covered buildings that fail to benchmark and report face fines of up to $100 plus $25 per day of violation under the ordinance.
More K-12 school buildings in Chicago
- HighSchool_LeoHS· 111,882 sq ft · score 94 (A)
- Jamieson· 111,599 sq ft · score 50 (D)
- Sadlowski· 111,081 sq ft · score 75 (B)
- Catalyst - Circle Rock· 111,030 sq ft · score 52 (D)
- Inter-American· 110,443 sq ft · score 70 (B)
- Swift· 109,399 sq ft · score 9 (D)
- K-12 School buildings in Chicago· 543 benchmarked
- All Chicago benchmarked buildings· Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance
- Most efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Least efficient large buildings in Chicago
- Biggest emitters in Chicago
Frequently asked questions
What is Bell's energy grade?
Bell scores 25 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR — band D, lowest band (1–54) — in its 2023 Chicago disclosure. Scores are national percentiles against similar buildings; 75+ qualifies for ENERGY STAR certification.
How much energy does Bell use?
Its 2023 site energy-use intensity was 92.8 kBtu/ft² (140.1 kBtu/ft² source) across 112,084 sq ft, including 800,880 kWh of electricity and 76,729 therms of natural gas.
What are Bell's carbon emissions?
Bell reported 790 tCO₂e of greenhouse-gas emissions (7.0 kgCO₂e/ft²) for 2023.
Where is Bell?
Bell is at 3730 N Oakley Ave, in Chicago, Illinois 60618. Its coordinates are 41.90015, -87.62222 (latitude, longitude), as published in the Chicago Energy Benchmarking file.
How big is Bell and when was it built?
Bell has 112,084 sq ft of gross floor area, as reported in its 2023 disclosure. The disclosure lists 1916 as its year built. It is classed as K-12 school.
Is Bell covered by the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance?
Yes — it appears in the 2023 Chicago Energy Benchmarking disclosure, which lists the buildings reporting under the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance.
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About this data
Source: Chicago Energy Benchmarking (Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance), as published October 2, 2026. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: BuildingCensus, “Bell, Chicago, Illinois — 2023 benchmarking disclosure”, https://buildingcensus.com/buildings/chicago/bell-d2544f76 (data as of October 2, 2026).